Oilers fry Sharks in triple overtime

ICE HOCKEY San Jose was defeated after their longest battle ever as Shawn Horcoff jammed home a pass Ryan Smyth made from behind the net

AP , EDMONTON, ALBERTA

The Buffalo Sabres' Daniel Briere, center, collides with Ottawa Senators goalie Ray Emery, top, after being tripped by the Senators' Vaclav Varada, bottom, during the third period of their second-round NHL hockey playoff game at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday. The Sabres won 3-2 in overtime.

PHOTO: AP

Shawn Horcoff scored his second playoff goal 2:24 into triple overtime on Wednesday, lifting the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks, playing the longest game in their history, lead the Western Conference semifinal series 2-1. Game 4 is tonight in Edmonton.

The previous longest night for San Jose was in 1995, when the Sharks beat Calgary in just under 22 total minutes of overtime.

It was the third-longest game in Oilers history. Their record stands at 57:34 of overtime play in a 3-2 loss to Dallas in 1999.

It was the first triple overtime of this year's playoffs.

Horcroff, speeding toward the goal, took Ryan Smyth's pass from behind the net and jammed it home.

Sabres 3, Senators 2

At Buffalo, New York, J.P. Dumont scored 5:05 into overtime to give Buffalo a victory over Ottawa and a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Chris Drury and Maxim Afinogenov also scored and rookie Ryan Miller stopped 26 shots for the Sabres who have won five straight and beat the Senators for the ninth straight time in the playoffs, dating to a 1997 first-round series.

The Sabres won despite missing two top regulars -- center Tim Connolly and defenseman Dmitri Kalinin -- effectively shutting down the East's No. 1 seed, a team that led the NHL with 314 goals in the regular season.

The Senators had little time to regroup with Game 4 of the best-of-seven series at Buffalo last night. All three games of the series have been decided by one goal, including Buffalo's 7-6 overtime win in Game 1.

Jason Spezza scored twice, both on the power play, for Ottawa and forced overtime by scoring with 90 seconds remaining in regulation.

Hurricanes 3, Devils 2

At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Rod Brind'Amour got his stick on Eric Staal's long shot during a power play and sent the puck hopping between Martin Brodeur's pads late in the second period and Carolina took a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Game 4 is tomorrow in New Jersey.

Matt Cullen and Justin Williams scored for the Hurricanes, who have won seven straight since dropping the opening two games in the first round to Montreal.

Since Cam Ward replaced Martin Gerber early in Game 2 against the Canadiens, Carolina has allowed just 12 goals. The 22-year-old rookie made 28 saves to become the second NHL goalie to win his first seven postseason starts, joining Tiny Thompson, who did it for Boston in 1929-30.

Sergei Brylin and Patrik Elias scored for the Devils, who went from a 15-game winning streak to a three-game skid.

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